"The thought of fielding for 50 overs doesn't excite me anymore" - Aaron Finch on his retirement from ODI cricket
Australian opening batter Aaron Finch recently spoke about his decision to step down as captain of the ODI side and bid farewell to the format. The veteran player played his last set of 50-over internationals during the Men in Yellow's 3-0 clean sweep over New Zealand in September.
The Victoria-born player was far from his best in the ODI format for a while. With pressure mounting on him following his run drought, Finch chose to focus all of his attention on the shortest format of the game. He will lead the side at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and could be the first captain to defend the title.
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Claiming that he has no regrets over the decision to retire from ODI cricket, Finch told reporters ahead of the first T20I against West Indies:
"It is something that I am in no way regretting. The thought of fielding for 50 overs doesn't excite me anymore. Twenty overs is certainly exciting. I am comfortable with the decision I have made and hopefully, that will allow me to play a little more T20 for longer."
Finch has represented Australia in 138 ODIs since making his debut in 2013. He scored 5316 runs at an average of 39.7 and recorded 17 hundreds over the course of his ODI career.
"If in doubt, be overly aggressive" - Aaron Finch on Australia's approach in T20I cricket
Australia head into the T20 World Cup 2022 as one of the favorites, especially playing in home conditions. The squad boasts enough depth with a plethora of all-rounders.
Playing with an extra batter with multiple all-rounders acting as the fifth bowler has been an approach that has paid off for Aaron Finch's side over the last few months.
How are the Windies, home to many of the format’s best players and twice champions of the T20 World Cup, not certain starters for this year’s tournament?
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However, the Men in Yellow lost a three-match series against India by a 2-1 margin and will cap off their preparations with the home series against West Indies and England.
Shedding light on Australia's aggressive approach, the skipper said:
"If in doubt, be overly aggressive. That is how we want to play. At times, that is going to come with high risk and high reward. At times, it comes with no reward. That is just a part of T20 and you respect that but I feel like I am hitting them really well and my game is in good order."
Australia will take on West Indies in the first T20I of the two-match series on Wednesday (October 5) in Queensland.
Did the explosive opening batter take the right decision by retiring from ODI cricket well ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup? Let us know what you think.